ONE-WOMAN BLUES R.EVIVAL again. She rose from the mud in a rage. "No pull, Jesse!" she screamed. "Mitch- ell, what the hell are you doing here?" "Ah, my grateful wife. You were in trouble, so I rushed over to help." "Thanks, we don't need any." ' Wh ' ....." oswer" "Me and Jesse. See you, o. K.?" "Lisa, I don't think so. I'm worried about you. Look at yourself" She reached a wild pitch of exaspera- tIon. "Hear that, Jesse?" she cried. "Your daddy's worried about me! He was never worried about me before!" The back door opened, and Tom- my stepped out onto the deck above them. Sargeant Pepper got out, too; he leapt onto the deck railing to rub against the comer post and meow at the moon. "The place is haunted, all right!" said Mitchell. "Here's the ghost! What big teeth you have, my dear!" Tommy lit their faces with the flashlight. "Ghost?" he said. "Teeth?" He came halfway down the stairs. 'What man is this?" he asked Lisa. "It's my husband," she said. "You put my leg on, Lisa!" "This is Tommy," Lisa told Mitchell. "He's from Poland." 'What's he doing here?" "He's not my boyfriend, Mitchell. He's fixing my car." "They do things funny in Poland." "He fell in the mud helping me. I'm washing his clothes." "You look nice in that robe, Tom- my," Mitchell said. "I gave that to Lisa for Valentine's Day once. Why don't you come down here? I don't like talking to people standing on stairs, especially when they're wearing my wife's underwear." "He doesn't live here, Tommy," Lisa said. 'We're getting divorced" "Why should Tommy care, Lisa? He's just fixing your car." Bravely, Tommy came down the stairs and stepped into the mud. Up in the house he'd looked silly in the knee- length pink robe, but now, his long hair brushing the satin collar in the moon- light, he looked like Galahad-trans- ported here with the dress and manners of a more heroic age. Animals obeyed him. "You are man from music store," he said to Mitchell. "Yeah, that's right. Why? You shop in my store? I don't remember you. I'll have to give you a special deal from " now on 109 ''Poor bastard. The New York 'Times' J.ust panned his zinfandel. " . Mitchell's tone of voice upset Jesse. He hunkered in the mud and barked. "Can't you shut up the goddam dog?" Mitchell said to Lisa. "No bark!" Tommy saId. Jesse cast his eyes at Tommy's feet and stopped barking. "Come!" Tommy said. When Jesse skulked to him, Tommy took the leash from Lisa and made Jesse heel and sit. 'Wow," said Mitchell. "Look at that. How long you been training my dog, d d " u e. "Your dog!" Lisa said. "You hate this dog! You never wanted this dog!" "How long you been seeing this guy?" Mitchell asked her. "You had him in the wings before you left, didn't you? You sent him to spy on me in my store. Maybe this has been going on for years, huh?" "I met him this afternoon, MItchell. You know why the dog obeys him? Out of respect, that's why. Think about it." "You need a new headshrInker, Lisa." "Headshrinker?" Tommy asked . His innocence was exhilarating. "It means a psychiatrist," Lisa said. "Crazy-people doctor?" "That's right," Mitchell said. "She's T " crazy, ommy. "LI' h ' " L . d "LI ne S t e crazy one. Isa saJ. . ne thinks Elvis Presley's still alive!" "There happens to be a lot of evi- dence he is," said Mitchell. A bark of laughter burst from Tom- my's mouth. "Elvis is dead, Mister!" Mitchell flinched as though he'd been struck. "Don't you ever say that about Elvis, punk!" "You're sick, Mitchell," Lisa said. 'C\T , ll " ou re not a we man. "1' m sick? I'll show you how sick I am!" he cried, and raised his hand. "Stay!" Tommy yelled. "You're next!" Mitchell screamed. "He's all talk, Tommy!" said Lisa. But this was something Tommy had no reason to believe. "Get him, Jesse!" he commanded, and unhooked the leash, and when Jesse left the ground you could tell that Mitchell had not been the daddy he should have been. .